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Season 7 of Fortnite is nearly here. The new season is scheduled to kick off this Thursday, December 6, and developer Epic Games has been building up excitement by sharing a series of teaser images each day leading up to it. The studio has now shared the final teaser, and it hints that some rather big things are in store for Season 7.

The image, which you can see below, zooms in on the ziplining character spotted in the background of the second teaser. “Ascend to new heights,” the accompanying tweet reads, suggesting that Season 7 will feature a greater emphasis on verticality. What’s even more interesting, however, is that the image also features a biplane in the background, which seems to hint that Fortnite will receive its first aerial vehicle.

Epic hasn’t confirmed many details about Season 7 beyond its start date, but we’ve gotten a good idea of what to expect from the three teaser images it has shared so far. The first featured an icy silhouette of a character with the caption, “A bitter ice spreads…” seemingly confirming fan theories that the new season will be winter-themed. The image also featured a character snowboarding down the side of the silhouette.

Hints that Fortnite’s next season would be snow-themed first began to appear within the game itself a few weeks ago, when players began noticing distant clouds in the ocean surrounding the map. Since then, some users on Reddit have discovered that the clouds are actually shrouding an iceberg that is slowly approaching the island.

We’ll find out soon just what changes await Fortnite in Season 7, but we do know something else that’ll be arriving alongside it. Epic announced a new sandbox-style mode called Fortnite Creative, which will allow players to design their own games and unique Fortnite experiences. Fortnite Creative will be available to everyone on December 13, but those who purchase the Season 7 Battle Pass will get access to the mode beginning December 6.

In the meantime, you still have a few more hours to complete any remaining Season 6 challenges and unlock the last few Battle Pass rewards. If you need pointers, we’ve put together some helpful tips on how to complete the game’s trickier missions in our Season 6 challenges guide.

Seems like it used to take a long time for games to dip down to half price. Battlefield V has only been out a few weeks and it’s already available for $30 (or $40 for the Deluxe Edition). The only catch is that you have to own and have access to a recent Battlefield game. But if you don’t? You can still get the standard edition for $40 from various retailers.

The Battlefield subreddit has been abuzz with people posting that the deal has popped up when they’ve signed in to games like Battlefield 4, Battlefield Hardline, and Battlefield 1. We tested it out on Battlefield 1 on Xbox One, and sure enough, the deal appeared in the game’s start menu. So if you have a previous installment and are interested in trying out the new one, boot it up and grab the deal.

Everyone else can get the standard edition of Battlefield V on PS4, Xbox One, and PC for $40 from Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. Just click the appropriate link below.

PS4

Xbox One

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As for how the game is, critic Michael Higham scored it 8/10 in our Battlefield V review, writing, “The Battlefield series has a winning formula that Battlefield V doesn’t deviate far from, at least for now. Conquest and the map roster don’t mesh well together, however, Grand Operations–and the other modes within it–steal the show and foster some of the greatest moments the franchise has offered.”

Battlefield V is scheduled to get numerous free DLC expansions in the coming months, the first of which, Chapter 1: Overture, is available now. A free battle royale mode called Firestorm is scheduled to arrive in March.

Peter Parker met a tragic end in Avengers: Infinity War, but we can all rest easy knowing he’s already bouncing back from his Thanos-related injuries and filming the follow up to his MCU solo debut Spider-Man: Homecoming, the playfully titled Spider-Man: Far From Home. While details about the specifics of the plot have remained unsurprisingly vague, the rumors of Jake Gyllenhaal joining the cast to play villain Mysterio were confirmed by on-set photos of Gyllenhaal in costume. That begs the question: Just who the hell is Mysterio, and what does his entrance into the MCU actually mean for Spidey?

The name Mysterio actually refers to four different Marvel villains dating all the way back to 1964, and while there has been no official confirmation of which version Gyllenhaal is actually playing, the safest bet is the first and most prolific of the lot, Quentin Beck, who premiered in The Amazing Spider-Man #13 in 1964.

Beck’s vintage origin story is your typical ’60s superhero fare. He was a struggling special effects artist and wannabe actor who eventually realized that his skills as an artist could be used to turn a real profit if he used them to build a villainous alter ego. Of course, after carefully constructing his costume (complete with his iconic fishbowl-style mirrored helmet) and making his debut, Beck was stopped and humiliated by Spider-Man–which, unsurprisingly, led to a life long vendetta. He joined the original incarnation of the Sinister Six, a team that also included Vulture, Dr. Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, and Sandman.

Over the years, Mysterio became a perpetual thorn in Peter’s side. Beck has no real superpowers, but his exhaustive knowledge of special effects trickery and illusions make him formidable in his own way–typically he’d set up elaborate gags involving smoke machines, stage magic, and even robotics to pull of his plots. Occassionally, his smoke based illusions are actually laced with hallucinogenic drugs, making him more similar to someone like Batman’s Scarecrow than a hoaky magician. He trained in hypnotism, inventing a second alter-ego he called Dr. Ludwig Reinhart, and generally did his best to try and force his victims to lose their minds with elaborate gimmicks and cons designed to make them believe all sorts of wild lies.

Sometimes the lies were pretty goofy. Other times, they were considerably less so. he tried to force Peter into believing he’d been shrunk down to action figure size. He later tried to con Aunt May out of house and home using a revolving door of disguises and assumed identities designed to gaslight and confuse her. Eventually, and with the help of Kingpin, he set his sights on Daredevil, trying to manipulate him into insanity using mood altering drugs and by targeting and manipulating his friends. At one point he actually tried to convince Matt that a baby was the biblical antichrist. True story.

That particular plan didn’t work out all that well and ended with Beck apparently committing suicide after Daredevil unmasked and beat him within an inch of his life. Of course, in typical comic book fashion, the death didn’t stick. And although Beck’s resurrection was never completely explained in any concrete way, the simplest answer was that he had staged his own death and gone into temporary hiding–though some stories insinuate that he really did die, and in fact spent some time in Hell before being magically revived.

Beck resumed his antics, rejoining with the Sinister Six as the need arose. He briefly retired (and built himself a robot daughter–don’t ask) in Las Vegas, but was prompted to pick up the Mysterio mantle yet again after getting wrapped up in some complicated, demonic dealings with Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider.

All told, Mysterio’s place in the Marvel universe is malleable. He’s a bit less prolific and recognizable than someone like Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus, and that slightly-less-than-top-tier notoriety, coupled with his expansive repertoire of skills, means he can fit into stories in any number of ways. He’s been the campy comic relief, the dangerous mastermind, the bumbling gloryhound, and the vicious sociopath, depending on the needs of the moment.

Thematically speaking, it seems more likely that we’re going to be seeing Gyllenhaal as one of Beck’s softer sides in Far From Home, especially considering the multilayered approach Homecoming took to his Sinister Six teammate Vulture. It’s certainly not impossible that we’re going to see a Mysterio on the big screen who is furious at Spider-Man for ruining his shot at fame and stardom, but it’s maybe a bit improbable.

There’s also the potential for Gyllenhaal’s character to borrow from the other incarnations of Mysterio: Daniel Berkhart, a con who temporarily replaced Beck at both Beck’s behest and after being hired to impersonate him by J. Jonah Jameson; Francis Klum, a mutant with teleportation powers who briefly took over the mantle while Beck was dead; and Mysterion, a mysterious new incarnation who was brainwashed and forced to join a team called the Superior Six lead by Otto Octavius. While none of the other Mysterio mantle wearers have quite the history Beck does, the MCU’s willingness to play fast and loose with classic characters means they probably shouldn’t be ignored.

One of the benefits you get for subscribing to the Nintendo Switch Online service is access to a growing library of classic NES games. Nintendo has been rolling out new titles for the service every month since it launched this past September, and now the company has confirmed that another batch of titles is scheduled to arrive next week.

Three more classic NES games are coming to the service on Wednesday, December 12. This month’s lineup consists of the falling block puzzle game Wario’s Woods, the notoriously challenging sidescroller Ninja Gaiden, and the puzzle adventure game Adventures of Lolo. You can take a look at them in the trailer below.

This marks the third batch of NES games that Nintendo has added to the service since it launched. October’s update brought NES Open, Super Dodge Ball, and Solomon’s Key to the library, while Metroid, TwinBee, and Mighty Bomb Jack arrived in November. With December’s additions, there are now 30 NES games available on Switch.

On top of the three new titles added each month, every batch of NES games thus far has come with an additional surprise: a special save data for a game in the library. In October, Nintendo added a version The Legend of Zelda that gives players access to Link’s entire arsenal of weapons and a ton of Rupees from the outset, while November’s update brought a special save of Gradius that starts you off with a fully-upgraded ship.

While Nintendo hasn’t confirmed if another special game save will arrive with its latest batch of NES games, the company has previously teased that more “fun new entry points into fan-favorite games” are coming, so we’ll likely see another surprise addition next week. The company also says that more NES games will be added in 2019 beginning in January, but it has yet to announce what the next titles will be.

NES games on Switch can be played with a special set of NES-style Joy-Con controllers. These resemble the classic NES gamepad and are only available to order through Nintendo’s website for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Each set comes with two controllers and costs $60. Nintendo says the first shipment will be sent out next week.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was a huge surprise in June when it was revealed on stage at Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference. A From Software Game? Set in 1500s Sengoku Japan? Without “Souls” in the title?

Despite the surprises, Sekiro appears to similar to From’s previous work in a number of ways. It’s a third-person action-adventure RPG, for a start, with a similar combat system to the company’s portfolio that includes hit games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Shadows Die Twice adds a few new features to the fan-favorite formula, the most notable of which is the ability resurrect yourself after death. This ability will be limited, so you can’t just keep resurrecting forever, however it can also be used to your advantage. Allow yourself to be killed and enemies will walk away, pleased with their success, opening themselves up for you to come back to life and stab them in the back.

Sword combat has received a few changes by incorporating both Prosthetic Tools, such as the Grappling Hook, and special Sword Arts to supplement regular attacks. Stealth will also play a part, with the player able to skulk around quietly and perform lethal sneak attacks. Without further ado, then, let’s get into everything we know about Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Release Date And Collector’s Edition

Activision announced Sekiro’s release date for PS4, Xbox One, and PC at Gamescom in August 2018. The game will launch on March 22, 2019, accompanied by the release of a collector’s edition. That special version comes with the full game, a steelbook case, a 7″ shinobi statue, art book, physical map, digital soundtrack, and replica game coins.

Does Sekiro Have Multiplayer?

From’s recent games have included a form of multiplayer in which other players can join your game and help or hinder your progress. Sekiro, on the other hand, will not include any way of interacting with other players.

“This title is designed, from the beginning, to be a single-player experience,” From Software’s Yasuhiro Kitao said at E3. “As a part of that, one of the focuses of the game is, instead of having a choice between various classes from the beginning, you must play as a ninja. As a result, [the team] has really been able to focus in on what those mechanics are and make them as deep as possible.”

When GameSpot asked if this means there is no multiplayer of any kind in Shadows Die Twice, Kitao was unequivocal in his answer. “Yes. No online components.”

Does Sekiro Have Difficulty Options? Will It Be As Hard As Dark Souls?

Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne are famed for their difficulty, with ultra-hard bosses and infrequent checkpoints providing a tough challenge for players. This led to some players asking for From’s games to include difficulty options, but the developer has declined that particular request for Sekiro.

“We don’t want to include a difficulty selection because we want to bring everyone to the same level of discussion and the same level of enjoyment,” director hidetaka Miyazaki told GameSpot earlier this year. “So we want everyone … to first face that challenge and to overcome it in some way that suits them as a player.”

The creator continued: “We want everyone to feel that sense of accomplishment. We want everyone to feel elated and to join that discussion on the same level. We feel if there’s different difficulties, that’s going to segment and fragment the user base. People will have different experiences based on that [differing difficulty level]. This is something we take to heart when we design games. It’s been the same way for previous titles and it’s very much the same with Sekiro.”

Finally, Miyazaki said Sekiro is “probably even more challenging than previous From games.” This is gonna be a tough one.

Where Does Sekiro Fit In With Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, And Bloodborne?

Despite the similarities between Sekiro and From’s previous games, the developer insists this is an entirely separate entity. “Sekiro was not designed as an evolution of Soulsborne, of the Souls series,” series creator and Sekiro director Hidetaka Miyazaki told GameSpot. “It was designed from the ground up, from scratch, as an entirely new concept, as a new game. So we don’t know if you’d call this an evolution of the series in this sense.”

The director continued: “Of course with Sekiro, we don’t intend to disappoint or turn away fans of previous From Software games, that core fan base. We want to keep the challenge. We want to keep that core experience very much intact for those people.”

Where Can I Pre-Order Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice?

Pre-orders for Sekiro are now live in a bunch of different outlets. Check out our full US pre-order guide for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for the rundown, including details on that collector’s edition.

US premiere date: August 6

Breaking Bad is one of the best television shows ever made. Its spin-off, Better Call Saul, from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, might be even better. Sure, Saul doesn’t have the addictive elements of the cancer survivor-turned-meth cook’s story, but it’s a stunning example of expert execution. It’s also more heartbreaking.

Television is littered with remakes, spin-offs, sequels, and prequels, yet Saul has never been concerned with catching up to Breaking Bad’s story, nor the heavy-handedness of empty Easter eggs. Its brilliance is a result of its methodical, glacial pace. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the ride through New Mexico’s underbelly.

If you’ve been sitting shotgun since 2015, this should be no surprise. The story centers on Jimmy McGill’s tragic downfall and life-long battle with his own demons. It’s packed full with the legalities (and illegalities) of the justice system, the most mundane clerical duties, cold-blooded cartel power dynamics, and illegitimate entrepreneurs. Season 4 featured Jimmy’s journey from disbanded lawyer to Saul Goodman (the finale even gave us its title character’s namesake). It wasn’t Anakin Skywalker turning to the dark side, but McGill’s transformation was extremely haunting and affecting. His partner-in-sometimes-crime, Kim Wexler, played by the incredible Rhea Seehorn, was left repulsed beyond belief.

If we had to pick one reason to watch Season 4, it’s Seehorn. She’s become the backbone of a show littered with exceptional actors. She’s evolved into Saul’s co-protagonist, but someone who doesn’t quite have the stomach for all of McGill’s cons. Kim is a lawyer full of confidence, anxiety and dread. Her anxiety quickly shifts to the viewer, who spends each and every episode on pins and needles. All we know of her fate is this: She never showed up on Breaking Bad.

If that’s not enough, Better Call Saul feels written by experienced, tactical surgeons–or better yet, by expert chemists. The way Gilligan and company purposefully back themselves into a corner just to prove they can cleverly write themselves out of it, perfectly mirrors the agility of their main character. Make no mistake, we’ve become junkies for what Gilligan and company have cooked up. — Ryan Peterson

Black Panther

US release date: January 29

Black Panther is immensely brilliant for a plethora of reasons. It’s Marvel’s first movie–Blade aside–starring a black actor. In fact, the vast majority of the cast are people of color, and there were plenty of stories, tweets, and videos of black people around the world proclaiming their excitement after seeing the film. That was simply great to see.

As for Black Panther as a MCU movie itself, that’s a whole other story. Marvel played with its character’s personalities for this one. Your titular hero wasn’t a wise-cracking jokester, something we’ve become accustomed to with Marvel’s movies. He’s overly serious, comes from a loving family, has bodyguards, and runs his own country. He is the exact opposite of everything we’ve seen in other Marvel films. Chadwick Boseman is transformative and a breath of fresh air for the superheroes in this role, bringing something completely different to the table. Then, there’s the villain for the movie, Erik Killmonger, played by the retainer-breaking Michael B. Jordan. He’s despicable, ruthless, and evil–right up until you learn more about his character and start to understand the method for his madness and feel sympathy for him. A great villain is one who is defined well enough that the viewer could agree with the antagonist’s motives if they were in his or her shoes, and that’s exactly what Black Panther does with Killmonger.

While there’s some mediocre CGI in the boring final battle, elsewhere there is a great scope and scale there that we haven’t seen in a Marvel movie, and the cast of important secondary characters keeps things pretty exciting. More than anything else, it’s a great establishing moment for Wakanda as a force, which helps set the stage for the Wakanda fight in Infinity War.

It’s 2018, and Marvel has perfected its formula for bringing in new characters without delivering an origin story. Black Panther is a phenomenal success not just for being a great movie, but for reaching all corners of the planet, getting the world to shout “Wakanda forever” together in an awesome cultural event. — Mat Elfring